To pass their immense tax giveaway to the rich, Republicans need to ensure their plan would add no more than $1.5 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. To do so, they’re cutting billions of dollars in tax benefits to people trying to raise children, pay for college, buy a home or invest in renewable energy.
That is why taxes would go up for about 45 percent of middle-class taxpayers by 2026 under the House bill, according to an analysis by The Times. By contrast, the people in the top 1 percent of income will get an average tax cut of $64,720 a year by 2027, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Even the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation concludes that the tax cuts are heavily tilted toward the rich. Yet, the Republicans may take the knife to even more middle class benefits, because the Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday that the bill would overshoot the $1.5 trillion target by nearly $200 billion.
If the bill exceeded the $1.5 trillion deficit threshold, it would have to be considered under rules requiring 60 votes in the Senate for passage, rather than a simple 51 vote majority. But whether the provisions in the bill are procedural necessities or just incredibly meanspirited, these are some ways they could hurt your family if you:
